Ons Jabeur emphasizes the need to maintain friendly relations among players
Ons Jabeur progressed to the semi-finals of the 2023 Charleston Open on Friday, April 7, in a walkover against Anna Alinskaya. Jabeur was leading 6-0, 4-1, when the Russian retired from the match due to illness.
In a post-match interview with the Tennis Channel, the interviewer referred to Jabeur being named the Peace Champion of the Year at the Peace and Sport Awards and asked what that meant to her.
The Tunisian replied that tennis players, at times, forget to keep things in perspective and take match outcomes so personally that they do not greet each other.
"I mean, sometimes tennis players, we forget that we are human beings and this is just a tournament, this is just tennis, you know. Sometimes they take it personally, they take all the matches with them and they probably don't say hi or something." she said.
Jabeur then added that one must move past the game and maintain respectful relations.
"For me, it's like, okay, the match is done, we can joke about it, we can go out for dinner. Not all players, of course, but I feel like you know hopefully it is going to change." she added.
She further stated that there were many things that tennis players had to be grateful for and emphasized that "love and peace should be everywhere."
"I feel like love and peace should be everywhere. You can see that there are worse things going on in this life. We are fortunate that we have food and a place to sleep and we are lucky to travel all over the world, so I don't feel like we need to complicate this and just smile and be happy everyday," she said.
Ons Jabeur advances to the semi-finals of the Charleston Open 2023
Ons Jabeur will square off against third seed Daria Kasatkina in the semi-finals of the 2023 Charleston Open.
Jabeur was out of action at the start of the year due to injury and will now come into her second semi-final of the season after the Adelaide International 1 in January. This will be her third straight semi-final at the tournament and she will be eyeing her possible fourth career title.
Semifinals are SET 👊
It’s the first time in 23 years that the top 4 seeds have reached the semifinals in our tournament’s history!
#CharlestonOpen https://t.co/VrGH6a5fsk
Daria Kasatkina, meanwhile, will come into the match after overcoming ninth seed Madison Keys in a three-set battle.
This will be the Russian's second semi-final appearance of the season since reaching the final of the Adelaide International 2, following which she faltered a little, winning just three out of her next nine matches.
Kasatkina seems to have found her footing again and will be looking to recreate her 2017 title-winning performance at the tournament.
The head-to-head record between the two players stands at 4-2 in favor of Ons Jabeur.